A sperm whale in front of the dunes of Tadoussac

Gloomy weather, but the river is calm on this October 29^th as I embark on the Grand Fleuve for a whale-watching excursion.

Shortly after we leave, we start seeing a few minke whales around the mouth of the Saguenay River and further off of Tadoussac. Along the way, we also cross paths with ten belugas and two fin whales that were not very active (resting, probably)…

Then I spot another blow in the distance. As I look through the binoculars, I first think I am observing two humpback whales in front of each other before I start focussing on the dorsal fin. It is then that I start to realize that I am in the presence of a sperm whale!

As we get closer, my doubts start to disappear: a powerful blow slanted to the left (a sperm whale’s blowhole is positioned towards the left), characteristic dorsal fin, wrinkles on the skin of the back and the animal looking like it comes from an ancient time.

We are now in front of the dunes of Tadoussac as we admire this impressive being.

During our short encounter with this whale it did not bring its tail out of the water. It had long breathing sequences: between 10 and 15 blows, followed by 10-15 minutes of rather shallow dives.

A sperm whale was also seen earlier this summer. Is this the same animal? We will find out after analyzing the photos of the dorsal fin.

Nonetheless, it is a very rare visitor in our area and one that left me with an unforgettable outing to the open sea.